G.  P.  A.  HEALY 
CENTENARY 


rich  Middeldorf 


G.  P.  A.  HEALY 
Painted  by  himself,  1874 


EXHIBITION  OF 
PAINTINGS  BY 
GEORGE  PETER 
ALEXANDER  HEALY 
1813-1894  UPON 
THE  CENTENARY 
OF  HIS  Bl  RTH 


THE  ART  INSTITUTE  OF 
CHICAGO  FROM  JANUARY 
2  TO   JANUARY   19,  1913 


GEORGE  P.  A.  HEALY 


GEORGE  R  A.  HEALY  was  born  in 
Boston,  July  15,  1813.  His  father  was  a 
naturalized  American  citizen  of  Irish 
birth,  and  his  mother  an  American.  Nothing 
in  his  early  years  seemed  to  indicate  his  future 
vocation.  His  father  had  been  captain  in  the 
merchant  service,  and  although  the  family  was 
acquainted  with  Stuart,  who  painted  the  captain's 
portrait,  the  surroundings  of  the  growing  chil- 
dren were  by  no  means  artistic.  A  mere  acci- 
dent revealed  to  the  boy  that  he  had  a  knack  for 
taking  likenesses,"  as  the  good  people  said; 
so,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  his  parents  he  resolved 
to  be  a  painter. 

The  beginnings  were  hard.  Young  Healy 
had  no  teachers.  In  those  days  there  were  no 
art  schools,  on  public  museums,  and  very  few 
pictures  were  exhibited.  But  nothing  daunted, 
the  Yankee  boy,  gifted  with  extraordinary  facil- 
ity, with  a  true  and  vivid  sense  of  color,  and 
above  all  with  an  energy  and  a  perseverance  that 
no  difficulties  could  overcome,  went  his  way 
cheerfully  and  unswervingly.  He  drew  every- 
thing that  he  saw  and  painted  the  portrait  of  any 
one  who  would  sit  for  him,  from  the  family 


butcher  to  his  brothers  and  little  sister.  Soon 
"  little  Healy,"  as  he  was  generally  called,  met 
with  some  encouragement.  He  boldly  took  a 
studio  and  had  a  few  sitters.  But  these  sitters 
were  all  men  and  he  longed  greatly  to  paint  a 
woman.  In  the  early  thirties,  the  queen  of 
society  was  Mrs.  Harrison  Gray  Otis.  A  kind 
friend  gave  the  boy-painter  a  word  of  introduc- 
tion to  her.  Mrs.  Otis  asked  her  shy  visitor 
what  she  could  do  for  him  and  he  blurted  out: 
"  Sit  to  me,  Madam.  I  so  want  to  paint  a  beauti- 
ful woman  !"  Healy  was  then  nineteen  years  of 
age.  The  portrait  of  Mrs.  Otis  at  once  made 
his  reputation. 

But  he  was  intelligent  enough  to  understand 
that  he  had  yet  much  to  learn,  and  in  1834  he 
went  to  Paris  and  entered  the  studio  of  Baron 
Gros.  There  he  formed  a  life-long  friendship 
with  the  great  painter,  Thomas  Couture. 

Through  the  influence  of  the  American  min- 
ister, General  Cass,  the  3'oung  painter  obtained 
sittings  from  the  French  King,  Louis  Philippe, 
who  was  so  pleased  with  his  portrait  that  he  sent 
Healy  to  London  to  copy  some  of  the  pictures  in 
Windsor  Castle,  and  later  to  America  with  an 
order  to  paint  the  American  statesmen  of  the 
day  for  the  Versailles  gallery.  But  the  revolu- 
tion of  1848  put  an  end  to^this  royal  patronage. 


It  was  while  engaged  on  this  series  of  por- 
traits that  Healy  conceived  the  project  of  paint- 
ing his  great  historical  picture  of  Webster  reply- 
ing to  Hayne,  now  in  Faneuil  Hall  in  Boston. 
The  picture  was  executed  in  Paris.  A  little 
later  was  painted  another  historical  picture 
representing  Franklin  before  Louis  XVI,  which 
at  the  exhibition  of  1855  won  a  gold  medal  for  its 
author,  the  highest  honor  yet  awarded  an  Ameri- 
can artist.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Healy  made 
the  acquaintance  of  William  B.  Ogden,  who  has 
been  called  the  ^'father  of  Chicago."  Mr. 
Ogden  warmly  urged  Healy  to  visit  him  in 
Chicago,  at  that  time  an  overgrown  village,  and 
this  visit  proved  so  successful,  and  socially  so 
agreeable,  that  the  artist  soon  determined  to 
make  Chicago  his  home.  The  number  of  por- 
traits executed  during  that  first  year  is  fabulous. 
Among  the  very  best  is  that  of  his  host.  During 
the  War  of  Secession,  he  painted  many  of  the 
most  celebrated  generals,  and  Lincoln  also  sat 
to  him. 

Incessant  work  was  beginning  to  tell  upon 
his  health,  and  in  1867  Healy  returned  to  Europe 
and  remained  there  many  years,  making,  how- 
ever, frequent  trips  to  America,  to  Chicago  es- 
pecially. The  family  home  was  first  in  Rome, 
then  in  Paris.    It  was  during  his  sojourn  in 


Italy  that  Healy  was  asked  to  paint  a  portrait  of 
himself  for  the  Uffizzi  gallery  of  Florence, 
where  it  may  still  be  seen.  He  also  executed  a 
large  portrait  of  the  reigning  Princess  of 
Roumania.  This  was  so  well  liked  by  the 
Prince  that  on  two  occasions  he  asked  the  artist 
to  visit  his  palace  so  as  to  paint  other  portraits. 
Healy  happened  to  be  in  Bucharest  when  his 
kind  patrons  were  proclaimed  king  and  queen. 

The  years  spent  in  Paris  were  pleasant  and 
prosperous,  and  during  that  time  the  American 
artist  painted  many  historical  personages,  among 
them  Thiers,  Gambetta,  Jules  Simon.  He 
went  to  Berlin  to  paint  Bismarck.  Lord  Lyons 
also  sat  to  him,  as  did  also  many  Americans, 
among  them  Whitelaw  Reid. 

In  1892  the  artist  suddenly  determined  to  re- 
turn to  Chicago  and  to  make  it  his  permanent 
home.  He  died  in  the  city  of  his  choice,  June 
24^  1894. 


CATALOGUE 


1 

ARMENIAN  BISHOPS 
Lent  by 

The  Art  Institute  of  Chicago 
2 

PORTRAIT  OF  A  CHILD  (Miss  Armstrong) 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

3 

ISAAC  N.  ARNOLD 

Lent  by 
Miss  Arnold 

4 

REV.  DR.  BARRY 
Lent  by 

The  Chicago  Historical  Society 
5 

MRS.  BESLY  AS  A  CHILD 
Lent  by 

Mrs,  Charles  H,  Besly 


6 

BISMARCK 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

7 

WII.I.IAM  BLAIR 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  William  Blair 

8 

MRS.  WILLIAM  BLAIR 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  William  Blair 

9 

K.  W.  BLATCHFORD 

Lent  by 

Mr.  E.  W.  Blatchford 

10 

MRS.  E.  W.  BLATCHFORD 

Lent  by 

Mr.  E.  W.  Blatchford 

11 

MISS  BLATCHFORD  AS  A  CHILD 
Lent  by 

Mr.  E.  W.  Blatchford 


12 

MRS.  J.  T.  BOWKN  AS  A  CHILD 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  foseph  T.  Bowen 

13 

DR.  O.  A.  BROWNSON 
Lent  by 

Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston 


14 

MISS  BRYAN  AS  A  CHII,D 
Lent  by 

Miss  fennie  B.  Bryan 


15 

MRS.  T.  B.  BRYAN 
Lent  by 


Miss  Jennie  B,  Bryan 


16 


JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 
Lent  by 

Miss  /ennie  B,  Bryan 


11 

MISS  H.  L.  CARTER 

Lent  by 
Miss  Carter 


18 

JAMES  CARTER 

Lent  by 
Miss  Carter 


19 

KING  CHARLES  I  OF  ROUMANIA 
Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

20 

HENRY  CI.AY 

Lent  by 

Miss  Jennie  B.  Bryan 

21 

MISS  CRAWFORD  (Mrs.  Fraser) 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

22 

RICHARD  H.  DANA 

Lent  by 

Mr,  J.  O.  Lyman 

23 

JUDGE  THOMAS  DRUMMOND 


Lent  by 

Miss  Dru7nmond 


24 

S.  E.  DUBOURJAL 

Lent  by 

Madame  de  Mare 

25 

BISHOP  DUGGAN 
Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

26 

QUEEN  EI.IZABETH  OF  ROUMANIA  (Head) 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

27 

WII.LIAM  EVERETT 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

28 

PORTRAIT  OF  BABY  FARI^IN 

Lent  by 

Mrs,  /.  H.  Farlin 

29 

GENERAI,  FOX 

Lent  by 

Madame  de  Mare 


30 

GKNERAI.  FOX 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

31 

I^fiON  GAMBETTA 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

32 

MISS  ROMAINK  GODDARD  (Madamevon  Overbeck) 
Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

33 

GKNKRAI.  GRANT 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

34 

COIv.  CHARLES  G.  HAMMOND 

Lent  by 

3frs.  William  Hubbard 


35 

JOEL  T.  HART 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 


S6 

ARTHUR  HKALY  AS  A  CHII.D 
Lent  by 

Mrs.  Lysander  Hill 

37 

G.  P.  A.  HKAI,Y 
Lent  by 

Mrs.  Charles  H.  Besly 

38 

G.  P.  A.  HEAIvY 
Lent  by 


Miss  fennie  B,  Bryan 


39 


G.  P.  A.  HKAI.Y 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  Lysander  Hill 

40 

G.  P.  A.  HEAI.Y 
Lent  by 

The  Chicago  Historical  Society 
41 

G.  P.  A.  HKAI,Y 

Lent  by 

Madame  de  Mare 


42 

G.  P.  A.  HKAivY 


Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 


43 

G.  P.  A.  HEALY 


Lent  by 

Mr.  G.  Shaughnessy 


44 

MRS.  G.  P.  A.  HKAI,Y 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  Charles  H.  Besly 

45 

DUDI^KY  HIGGINSON  AS  A  CHII.D 
Lent  by 

Mrs.  Dudley  Higginson 

46 

GEORGE  HIGGINSON 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  V.  K.  Spicer 

47 

MRS.  GEORGE  HIGGINSON 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  V.  K.  Spicer 


MRS.  HII.L  AS  A  BABY 
Lent  by 

Mrs.  Ly Sander  Hill 


49 

MRS.  GKORGK  ISHAM  AS  A  CHILD 
Lent  by 

Mr  .  George  F.  Porter 

50 

HKNRY  W.  KING 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  Cyrus  Bentley 

51 

MRS.  TUTHILL  KING 
Lent  by 


Mrs.  J.  H.  Farlin 


52 

FERDINAND  DK  LESSKPS 

Lent  by 


The  Newberry  Library 


53 

ABRAHAM  UNCOLN 
Lent  by 


The  Newberry  Library 


54 

FRANZ  LISZT 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

55 

I.ISZT  HOIvDING  A  CANDI.E 

Lent  by 

Miss  Longfellow 

56 

STEPHEN  TRIGG  I.OGAN 

Lent  by 

The  Chicago  Historical  Society 

57 

HENRY  WADSWORTH  LONGFEI.I.OW 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  A.  V.  S.  Anthony 

58 

I.ORD  I,YONS 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

59 

MADAME  DE  MARE  AS  A  GIRIv 

Lent  by 

Miss  C.  /ones 


60 


MARIE  DK  MARE  AS  A  CHILD 

Lent  by 

Madame  de  Mare 

61 

E.  B.  McCAGG 

Lent  by 

The  Chicago  Historical  Society 
62 

MRS.  E.  B.  McCAGG 
Lent  by 

Mr.  Louis  B.  McCagg 

63 

IvOUIS  B.  McCAGG  AS  A  CHII.D 
Lent  by 

Mr,  Louis  B.  McCagg 

64 

KATHi^EEN  McCarthy 

Lent  by 

Madame  de  Mare 

65 

MRS.  CYRUS  H.  McCORMICK,  SR. 
Lent  by 

Mrs.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick 


66 

JOHN  LOTHROP  MOTLEY 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

67 

MRS.  MAHLON  OGDEN 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  F.  T.  West 

68 

WIIvLlAM  B.  OGDEN,  first  mayor  of  Chicago 
Lent  by 

City  of  Chicago 

69 

PRINCESS  6F  OIvDENBURG 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

70 

MADAME  DE  PIERRE  and  HER  DAUGHTER 
Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

71 

MARTIN  RYERSON 

Lent  by 

Old  People' s  Home 


72 

MRS.  MARTIN  RYERSON 
Lent  by 


Old  People' s  Home 


73 

JOHN  Y.  SCAMMON 
Lent  by 

The  Chicago  Historical  Society 
74- 

GENERAL  SHERMAN 
Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

75 

JUDGE  MARK  SKINNER 
Lent  by 

Mr.  M.  S.  Willing 

76 

HENRY  M.  STANLEY 
Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

77 

MISS  STEVENSON 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  L.  R.  Rutter 


78 

EDWARD  B.  STICKNEY 

Lent  by 

The  Chicago  Historical  Society 

79 

I.OUIS  ADOI.PHE  THIERS 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

80 

THE  MISSES  THORN 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

81 

JOHN  ROSS  VAI.ENTINE 

Lent  by 

Mr  Valentine 


MRS.  JOHN  ROSS  VALENTINE 

Lent  by 

Mr.  Valentine 


83 

SAMUEL  WARD 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 


84 

EI.IHU  B.  WASHBURNK 

Lent 

Mrs.  H.  Washburne 

85 

DANIEL  WEBSTER 

Lent  by 

The  Newberry  Library 

86 

MRS.  WEST  AS  A  CHILD 
Lent  by 


Mrs.  F.  T.  West 


87 


JEFFE  WHITEHEAD 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  E.  P.  Whitehead 


88 

MRS.  JEFFE  WHITEHEAD 
Lent  by 

Mrs.  E.  P.  Whitehead 


89 

MRS.  WILLING 

Lent  by 

Mr.  M.  S.  Willing 


90 

REV.  DR.  WOODBRIDGK 


Lent  by 

Mrs.  Dickhison 


91 

HENRY  WADSWORTH  I,ONGFEI.LOW 

Lent  by 

Miss  Jennie  B.  Bryan 

92 

DRAWINGS  AND  SKETCHES 

Lent  by 

The  family  of  the  artist 

93 

SKETCHES 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  Charles  H.  Be  sly 

94 

GIRI.  WITH  PITCHER 

Competition  study  painted  at  one  sitting  at 
Baron  Gros'  studio  in  1835 

Lent  by 

Mrs.  Ly Sander  Hill 

95 

GEN.  JAMES  A.  MULUGAN 

Lent  by 

Miss  Mulligan 


CATALOGUE  OF  OWNERS 

Anthony,  Mrs.  A.  V.  S  57 

Miss  Arnold  3 

Art  Institute  of  Chicago,  The   1 

Bentley,  Mrs.  Cyrus  50 

Besly,  Mrs.  Charles  H  5,  37,  44,  93 

Blair,  Mrs.  William        .       .       .       .       .       .       .    7,  8 

Blatchford,  E.  W  9,  10,  11 

Bowen,  Mrs.  Joseph  T.   12 

Bryan,  Miss  Jennie  B.        .       .       .     14,  15,  16,  20,  38,  91 

Carter,  Miss  17,  18 

Chicago  Historical  Society,  The    .       .    4,  40,  56,  61,  73,  78 

City  of  Chicago  68 

Dickinson,  Mrs  90 

Drummond,  Miss       .......  23 

Family  of  the  Artist,  The  92 

Farlin,  Mrs.  J.  H  28,  51 

Higginson,  Mrs.  Dudley  45 

Hill,  Mrs.  Lysander         ....         36,  39,  48,  94 

Hubbard,  Mrs.  William  34 

Jones,  Miss  C   59 

Longfellow,  Miss  55 

Lyman,  J.  O.  22 

McCagg,  Louis  B  62,  63 

McCormick,  Mrs.  Cyrus  H  65 

Mare,  Madame  de   24,  29,  41,  60,  64 

Mulligan,  Miss  95 

Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston   13 

Newberry  Library,  The      2,  6,  19,  21,  25,  26,  27,  30,  31,  32, 
33,  35.  42,  52,  53,  54,  58,  66,  69,  70,  74,  76,  79,  80,  83,  85 

O'Shaughnessy,  G  43 

Old  Peoples'  Home  71,  72 

Porter,  Mr  .  George  F.  49 

Rutter,  Mrs.  L.  R   77 

Spicer,  Mrs.  V.  K  46,  47 

Valentine,  Mr  81,  82 

Washburne,  Mrs.  H.  84 

West,  Mrs.  F.  T  67,  86 

Whitehead,  Mrs.  E.  P  87,  88 

Willing,  M.  S   .        75,  89 


B^-|3  22_oo7 


